I only saw q&a in fit and starts(i'm a solo dad with a three year old). Didn't Wade say QE was a bad thing as all it did was make the rich richer? Presenter got a laugh out of that considering our most left party was pushing for it.
Printable View
I only saw q&a in fit and starts(i'm a solo dad with a three year old). Didn't Wade say QE was a bad thing as all it did was make the rich richer? Presenter got a laugh out of that considering our most left party was pushing for it.
I have three reasons for disparaging teachers. The teacher who told me that my son was in "the bottom 5% in NZ in his ability to learn" and the next teacher who would not have him in the electronics class because his maths etc was not up to scratch. Fortunately, he had parents wise enough to let him leave from Form IV to go into electronics. From a full trade qualification, he went on to and Honours Degree from London University and employment at the top of his profession. His elder sister was denied University Entrance and had to sit the exams. She now owns a multi-million business in London The third is doing well too. I have several friends who are or were teachers but the problem is that they are so used to pupils that they are either instructing or standing for parliment - and some even get elected.
It was a bit of a rushed synopsis that he made, but that was the gist of it. Of course the secondary effect would be that businesses held up better and more would continue to be employed, softening a hard landing.
I think the Greens suggested that a range of policies could be tried here, which were intended to have the effect of dropping the value of the NZ dollar. I read somewhere, that we have no real need to pay taxes, sending a portion of our income to the government. The government can always print any money it needs. But paying taxes and borrowing money for a budget shortfall, values the currency, that is the main reason for it. Stops runaway inflation I guess. Although if that was really a likely outcome, why hasn't it happened noticeably in the USA yet? The US dollar has strengthened, it's not helping to reduce their state borrowing interest overheads.
Thanks for the links EZ. Unfortunately I am very limited doing research/reading as I am off Cape Horn (in crap weather) and internet very very slow. So will leave the debating with you to the other Centrists (Craic, slimwin,FP, MTV etc etc) that are doing a grea job !
****e we donīt even have drinks, pokies or women down here. Or like the boys say, no twosomes, threesomes or foursomes, only handsomes down here. Pretty sad all around :)
It's funny how teachers think the education system belongs to them and not to the elected government, the taxpayers and parents.
It's funny how teachers use young kids as ventriloquist's dummies and to hold aggressive signs during their demonstrations and strikes.
Its funny how the teachers are much more unionized than any other section of society.
Its funny how teachers, State school teachers anyway, are just about 100% Labour supporters/paid up members.
The old adage - those who can, do; those who can't, teach.
Simon Lusk the supposedly discredited National Party mystery man said " the blogosphere and media are controlled by the Right. " His far right views seem to coincide with some of the self proclaimed centre right posters here.
The reduced power of the unions, the reduction in worker rights and the continual push for lower taxes, all policies of the neo right and the continual discrediting
of the left by most media is present day NZ
NZ needs a strong Labour Party to offer effective opposition to National. If that does not happen civil unrest will inevitably occur.
Westerly
I hadn't really thought of it like that Westerly, but certainly the web has a lot of right-wing blogs. The press are generally a bit more even-handed, and the SST has possibly more leftish commentators than some other papers.
Bill English didn't like some of Prof Wade's words, and I think that's because they were powerful in their simplicity. Of course the idea that 1% of the populace benefit the most from those already in the top 1% setting the rules, is a matter of opinion. But the underlying stats that we can all get our hands on, shows that in general, this is happening. At an increasing rate.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...iting-academic
Robbing Kiwisaver accounts to buy your first home - OK in theory, but loosening the rules and bringing it to everyone's attention only says that National is quietly pleased about rampant house inflation, at least in the short term.
http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/65...its-own-short-
Stupid in my opinion. Kiwisaver was set up in part to increase kiwis investments and move them away from property investment. The thresholds were set low for a reason. A bit of indexing may be justified but I dont like the idea of giving handouts to 6 figure income households - that is just wrong.
Probably never for several reasons. People invest inside NZ because of the absence of the capital gains tax - introduce it and you remove the incentive both from local and from overseas investors. If you introduce capital gains tax you also have a capital loss to claim against income. Farmers may not be able to pass on their assets to their offspring without a massive tax unless you make specific exclusions in the law and this govt. does not like specific exclusions - what else would you have to exclude? Another factor against CGT is the cost administration and enforcement and that includes all sorts of quasi-criminal actions trying to get umpteen millions from bankrupt individuals. Key likes to keep things simple and GST is the simplest and most effective of all. And I don't think that you have a snowballs chance in hell of getting a change of government next year. It matters little to me, who is on the hill but if Labour persist with their current leader they would need something extrordinary to happen to have any chance.
Craic, opinions like yours are why I keep posting.. for instance, the poor average farmer, who has strenuously avoided paying much income tax on average (it's there in the figures) all their working life, then should get to keep all the capital gain as well, and not have to pay tax at the end of the cycle? In other words, other employed people can pay for the infrastructure of NZ. It's not as if they are massive employers or trainers of skilled staff either.
I don't care how hard it makes the annual tax returns, other countries do it, CGT has to be done here. Or else manufacturing, jobs and smart businesses won't get the attention they need, in this global economy.
Shearer's office staff has been changed, possibly a good thing, this was predicted in the weekend by either The Nation or Q&A.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...staff-shuffles
Winston looks to be putting his party in a camp with Labour and the Greens, and frankly he often talks a lot of sense. I don't know Craic, maybe John Key needs to be setting aside some packing boxes in his office.
EZ Just the other day I pushed a few buttons on my PC and bought a block of shares for a price. I put them back on the market at a higher price. They sold. After costs I am $1,570 better off. I will set aside 30% for tax and still be happy. This is what I do apart from cutting down and chopping up trees in my old age. I was born into abject poverty beyond anything you might imagine but I have learned to survive. Not all the kings horses and all the kings men, including Winston Peters, can't save the Labour Party under Shearer. All your postings and all your wishful thinking will not alter the real world. Personally I don't give a stuff about who wins the next election - I will be fine either way. John Key will be fine either way.
Good one Craic, great to see some top share timing. I'm not having a go at anyone in particular, and I'll be talking to my accountant about shares tomorrow. It's just that the stats show certain patterns that are best to be heeded if we're going to move on as a country.
Labour's Jacinda Ardern has been noting for several months that while the info swapping in govt departments has spotted about $39mill annually in benefit fraud and overpayments, the likely amount of tax fraud is in the region of $1bill to $6bill, up to 150 times more, which would be around 10% of the normal tax income of the govt. This includes the black economy, every no-sale on a till, cash jobs, etc. A poll running on a website shows that most NZers think both fraud areas should be followed up equally.
It looks to me like 100x more effort needs to go into tax compliance, than into benefit fraud. In the meantime, beneficiary bashing by National MPs when the odd fraud issue shows up, is hypocritical.
Winston said in the weekend that he likes David Shearer, thinks he's competent. He didn't have a bad word to say there.
John Key will need to prove to the less affluent people in NZ, of whom there are many, that National will deliver some real improvements in the next term. So far it's only smoke and mirrors.